Just a month after YouTube bought Web content creation specialist Next New Networks, reports say Google is looking to spend up to $100 million to acquire original content designed to be delivered via the Internet, but viewed in the living room, positioning the company to better take advantage of the continuing convergence of the Internet and traditional television.
The Wall Street Journal says Google plans to redesign YouTube to include channels of professionally created original content topics, as it continues to look for ways to maximize its audience and its income from advertising; slowly evolving from its roots as a library for all user generated content into a destination for more lengthy viewing sessions.
YouTube has flirted with changing the mix of its content for about a year, experimenting with live events, a selection of on-demand Film Festival movies, and has even been rumored to be talking with the NHL and NBA about streaming games live on YouTube. Last year, YouTube streamed Indian Premier Cricket to millions of viewers.
In addition to its acquisition of Next New Networks, YouTube also bought Green Parrot Pictures in March, an Irish company that builds cutting-edge video quality improvement technology, which helps make videos look better while, at the same time, using less bandwidth and improving playback speed.
For more:
- see this WSJ article
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